Best in class

How upstream gas can work smarter

APPEA Study – 2014

This special report was presented in summary at APPEA's 2014 Conference in Perth on 7 April 2014. It was prepared in co-operation with APPEA and its members by PwC's oil & gas productivity consulting practice with the aid of the US oil & gas practice of Strategy& (PwC's newly launched brand for the recently acquired Booz & Co. global strategy house) as well as Gaffney, Cline & Associates.

According to the report, Australia's natural gas industry is lagging global counterparts in critical capabilities but a greater focus on upstream activity would help drive the industry's efforts to boost productivity and cut costs. The adoption of lean manufacturing principles across upstream operations could lead to a 10-20 per cent improvement in breakeven costs.

The research also showed that government too has an important role to play in improving Australia's LNG competitiveness. Explicit policies to encourage innovation in tight gas environments appears to have worked well in other markets and we should expect similar results if adopted here. In addition, smoothing regulatory policies and ensuring a balanced dialogue between industry and community is also a critical role for government.

The full report is available to read on iPad within the PwC AU app under the Global Insights section or can be downloaded directly as a pdf from this page.